Research

Research

A novel strategy to enhance genome editing promises to increase the efficiency of making genetic improvements in a wide range of organisms, a new study suggests. The results could help boost applications such as developing better crops and treating genetic diseases in humans, Penn State researchers said.

For some youngsters, a toy spider is frightening. For others, it’s simply a funny-looking plaything. Why some kids squeal with delight and others with trepidation is what Koraly Perez-Edgar, a researcher in Penn State’s Department of Psychology, is hoping to tap into. Her research team is working with a German technology firm to build an eye-tracking visor that will capture eye gaze information that could lead to a better understanding of anxiety disorders in children.

Anthony Cutler, Evan Pugh Professor of Art History, has been appointed a professorial research associate in the Department of the History of Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, for a two-year term in 2015-17.

The recent slowdown in climate warming is due, at least in part, to natural oscillations in the climate, according to a team of climate scientists, who add that these oscillations represent variability internal to the climate system. They do not signal any slowdown in human-caused global warming.

If you are an organic-crop producer in the Northeast or a farmer interested in transitioning to organic, there is a new resource available to help provide the research-based information you need to be successful. The newly published Penn State Organic Crop Production Guide is among the most comprehensive university-produced guides in the country.

Children of undocumented Mexican immigrants have a significantly higher risk of behavior problems than their co-ethnic counterparts with documented or naturalized citizen mothers, according to a team of sociologists.

Discussing the relationship between science and faith, rather than avoiding the discussion, may better prepare future high school biology teachers for anticipating questions about evolution, according to Penn State political scientists.

The Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management at Penn State has established the Social Science Acoustics Lab in Keller Building at the University Park campus. The lab is used in a variety of ways to investigate the impact natural sounds have on human health.

New recipes for concrete -- and new ways to monitor old concrete -- aim for safer, longer-lasting bridges. Penn State civil engineering faculty are researching methods for enhancing the maintenance and durability of civil infrastructure, including anything made of concrete, from bridges to roads to buildings.

Biodiversity, including small predators such as dragonflies and other aquatic bugs that attack and consume parasites, may improve the health of amphibians, according to a team of researchers. Amphibians have experienced marked declines in the wild around the world in recent decades, the team added.

Impoverished families in western Honduras stand to benefit from a new project aimed at improving access to that country's markets for high-value horticultural crops. Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have received a nearly $1.4 million grant to perform a gender-based analysis of the Honduran horticultural value chain, with an eye toward reducing barriers to participation for women and other marginalized groups, while enhancing family income and nutrition.